In a perfect world, men and women would receive equal pay. African American women would be presented the same opportunities as their white counterparts. Rejection would be based on qualifications rather than race.

Unfortunately, this world is far from perfect, however, there are people, more specifically women, who have dedicated their time, money and education to make a positive change. They’ve used their experiences and their encounters with injustices to fight and/or create more opportunities for their children and their children’s children, in an effort to make the world a better place. They’ve put our pain and problems on their backs and created space for change, new opportunities for our brothers and sisters to excel and succeed in a world that is designed against us. This is #BlackExcellence. These are #BallerificWomen. ⠀

One of those special women is Kristina Laferne Roberts, who is better known by her pseudonym “Zane.” She is one of the most famous and awarded Black erotic fiction writers of all-time.

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Kristina was born in Washington, D.C. in 1967 and was raised by her father James Deotis Roberts, an influential theologian and author, and her mother, an elementary schoolteacher. As a child, Kristina was always caught writing stories through the night.

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In 1997, Kristina started to write erotic stories to pass the time once her children had went to bed. At the time, she was living in North Carolina and working as her father’s research assistant at Duke University’s divinity school where he taught.

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What started as short stories that she would send to several people in AOL chat rooms and post on the internet, turned into fans begging her to write a book. To separate herself from her work Kristina chose the pen name, Zane, which was inspired by actor Billy Zane [Titanic] and adventure writer Zane Grey.

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Zane has published 39 books, and has gone on to adapt films and shows of her most popular stories like “Addicted” and “The Sex Chronicles.” She has gained the title of New York Times Bestselling Author for several pieces and has won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Fiction. She is well-known for her in-depth, descriptive writing, implementing positive, prestigious Black characters and creating storyline plots you’ll never forget.